Entertainment

How the WWE Is Making WrestleMania More Social Than Ever

Already among the most socially adept sports entertainment brands around, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is pumping up its digital emphasis more than ever for its signature WrestleMania event this year.

The pay-per-view broadcast's half-hour pre-show will be live-streamed on YouTube, Facebook and WWE.com before the actual event begins Sunday evening at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. A press conference Wednesday afternoon will include stars answering questions submitted by fans via Twitter. Exclusive YouTube videos, a "hashtag battle" between The Rock and John Cena, and Mike Tyson functioning as the event's official "social media ambassador" are more components of the heavy digital emphasis planned for the week.

WWE stars will also be sharing photos, video and tweets on a less formal basis — even during WrestleMania itself, according to Jason Hoch, the organization's senior vice president of digital.

"We've noticed in some of the higher profile sports and entertainment events that the Social TV experience tended to be limited to pre-show activities," Hoch told Mashable in an email. "Sports stars and that true 'social' experience direct from the athlete to the fan disappear once the big game is live. We want to change that approach with this year's WrestleMania."

Hoch and his WWE cohorts are no strangers to being on the front edge of leveraging social media, however. The WWE's main Facebook page boasts more than 8 million fans, and Hoch says the WWE is Facebook's most-followed sports brand behind only the NBA. The WWE.com site just got a major overhaul, as well, which Hoch says has transformed it into a "real-time social experience." Individual stars like Cena and The Rock have become huge online, too.

Cena, The Rock and other stars including the Undertaker and Triple H will launch original webisodes from Miami on the YouTube homepage Friday. Cena and The Rock will also complement their in-the-ring WrestleMania bout with a "Twitter Face-off," getting fans to battle for Twitter supremacy using the hashtags #Cenation and #TeamBringIt. Tyson's role as social media ambassador will include tweeting live from events such as a Hall of Fame induction ceremony and WrestleMania itself.

But Hoch says pulling off a social media-saturated event like WrestleMania goes beyond just the WWE stars and personalities. He credits writers, producers, marketers and technical staff all with keeping the brand at the forefront of social media.

"To truly pay off this type of real-time experience, all members of the WWE team need to be involved, and have a stake in the results," Hoch told Mashable. "It's not just about using a hashtag in the upper corner of your TV screen anymore. It's about making the investment to go 'all in' and offer something compelling, anytime, anywhere."

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